Category:3.1 Advertising

every Cloud has an orange lining.

last year the energy drink market gained 17% in value share, and is now worth £791.8m, making it the uK’s third biggest soft-drinks category.

Source: Neilsen, February, 2012

“i expect fun, darkness and uniqueness. the (current) advert is funny but it could be for another soft drink.”

“recent adverts have lost that bravery, individuality and mischievous edge that is just so irn-Bru”

Source: Face, July 2011 Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Brand Media spend Scotland

Coca-Cola £1,890,127

IRN-BRU £782,324

Media spend 2012

irn-Bru has a way of inspiring through communications and product that helps drinkers rally around, by picking them up both functionally and emotionally.

Face: July 2011

Fig. 6

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Advert View rates

Blind Date 36.42%

Fanny 30.13%

Pink Bomb 29.55%

Steamy Windows 20.78%

Source: PHD Network 2012

“…your shattered nerves you’ll soon renew, By drinking Barr’s famed iron Brew…”

Excerpt from 1913 poem, Iron Brew, John Murray

“if the weather is miserable and i need cheering up, i get an irn-Bru. it cures sadness.”

Source: Face, Consumer Connect, 2012

“i drink irn-Bru when i am tired or am feeling a bit down and i need a major boost, i just need to get some energy and feel better.”

Source: Face, July 2011

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Purchasing of irn-Bru significantly increases by 8% over the campaign period as does the number of respondents who buy it most often, 7%. Purchasing regularly of coke sees only a small increase, 3% whilst lucozade purchasing drops, -3%

Source: LVQ research Sept. 2012

Fig. 10

in advertising imagery terms, there are improved perceptions compared to previous campaigns on:

• talked about by friends - +31%

• Cheeky- +23%

• Better than other adverts +17%

• good sense of humour +15%

• Fun +3%

Source: LVQ research Sept. 2012

“these adverts are brilliant, the best ones i’ve seen in years.”

“i’ve definitely discussed with pals, have you seen the new irn-Bru adverts yet? unbelievably hilarious.”

Source: Face Consumer Connect research, 2012

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Fig. 11 Fig. 12

sCriPt

Blind date

Boy walks into to a Restaurant, holding a rose and a newspaper with a heart drawn on it. He holds up two fingers to the server. Senga spots him, stands up from her table and points at her copy of a newspaper.

senga: HERE!

He takes a sip of Irn Bru.

Boy: GOOD HAUL!

The Server looks confused.

senga: SENGA.

She pats him on the back and they shake hands He sits down.

Boy: SO, SENGA D’YE COME HERE OFTEN?

Senga looks unperturbed and replies quickly.

senga: OH AYE, THE WEE ONES LOVE THE CRECHE.

We cut to a soft play area, there are 4 kids of varying ages standing in a row, they look little devil children and are all identical to Senga.

senga: DESTINY, BILLY, JOHN, PACK IT IN!

Our guy looks freaked out by his new ‘family’, takes a sip of his BRU though and instantly looks happier.

Boy: NICE, STRONG GENES.

Cut to endframe of a rose and Newspaper next to cans of IRN-BRU. The newspaper reads “IRN–BRU GETS YOU THROUGH” with a heart drawn round it.

url: IRN-BRU.CO.UK

Pink Bomb

sCriPt

idea: A young man arrives home to find his girlfriend has turned his bachelor pad into a girly hell-hole, but he drinks IRN-BRU and finds out things aren’t that bad.

A young guy opens his front door and walks into his flat. As he walks into the living room, he stops and looks around: it’s a pink and fluffy soft furnishing nightmare. He looks round and shouts,

guy: WHAT’S GOING ON?

A young woman appears and says,

gF: I’VE MOVED SOME STUFF IN, LIKE WE SAID.

Our guy lifts a can of IRN-BRU from a table (we can see from the handles sticking out the side that it used to a foosball table, but it’s been converted, and now has a flowery table cloth, and a selection of girly trinkets on it). He takes a long drink of his IRN-BRU and his expression changes. He now looks chuffed and relaxed. He says,

guy: SO MANY COLOURS, JUST LIKE A RAINBOW.

She claps her hands in girly excitement and points to a big rectangular empty space on the wall where the widescreen TV used to be. Wires and gubbins hang out of a hole in the middle. She says,

gF: AND THAT TV WAS SOOOOO BIG. THERE WAS NOWHERE FOR THIS.

She hangs a massive painting of both of them reclining on thrones. She’s wearing a wedding dress; he takes another sip of his BRU, and says,

guy: THAT LIVE SPANISH FOOTBALL WAS GETTING TEDIOUS.

Feeling like she’s on a roll, his girlfriend says,

gF: AND YOU KNOW THE SPARE ROOM?

Our guy nods and she says excitedly,

gF: WELL, MY MUM’S MOVED IN!

As she says this a battleaxe of a woman comes in with a towel round here like she’s just come out of the shower. She’s carrying a razor and she says to our guy as she lifts up her arm and gestures to her armpit,

MuM: JUST HAD A WEE SHOT OF YER RAZOR THERE.

Our guy takes a final drink of his IRN-BRU and says good-naturedly.

guy: NAE PROBLEM DAPHNE, WHAT’S MINE IS YOURS

Cut to endframe of cans of IRN-BRU next to a pink fluffy cushion with the words on it: IRN-BRU Gets You Through

steamy Windows

sCriPt

idea: A teenager walks in on Mum and Dad getting slightly amorous on the couch, after a sip of his phenomenal BRU though, he cheers up.

We open on a regular Scottish house. A teenage boy walks through the hall with a can of unopened IRN-BRU in his hand and heads for the living room. We hear some ‘interesting shuffling’ coming from inside, as he enters the worst is revealed. Mum and Dad are in a state of undress and are getting very amorous on the couch. It’s fair to say they are hardly Brad and Angelina. As our boy enters they freeze and Dad slowly moves his hand from where it was resting. Our teenage boy looks shocked stiff at what he has stumbled across. He slowly opens the can of BRU and takes a swig, lets out a breath and instantly looks much more content. He looks over to them and says

Boy: OH STEAMY WINDAES IN HERE!

He then casually walks into the room and points at a prominent rug on the floor.

Boy: DINNAE MIND ME, NICE RUG MUM… IS IT NEW?

As he stands looking at the rug his eyes look up towards the stereo, he catches a glimpse of ‘a smooth soul album titled ‘Lionel Smedley’s – Saxy Smooth Sessions:’ lying beside it, he cringes but takes another sip of his IRN-BRU, as he does so he instantly relaxes and says to himself while laughing.

Boy: DAD, YA SMOOTHIE.

Our boy then wafts his T-shirt as if to indicate it being warm, he gets up and points towards the curtains

Boy: IT’S HOATER THAN THE INSIDE OF A CHEESE TOASTIE IN HERE! YA MIND?

As he goes to open the curtain we catch a glimpse of Mum and Dad who throw a nervous glance at each other, before they can work out what to say our boy opens the curtains to reveal a rotund man in grey underwear standing behind it hiding. Our boy looks stunned and lifts his IRN-BRU towards his mouth without even thinking. As he pours some in, his face changes, he then looks sprightly and says

Boy: MR MCTAGGART! LOOKING TRIM, KEEPING ACTIVE?

We end with a can of IRN-BRU on a window sill in front of a steamy window with a drip of condensation running down it and the endline appears:

super: IRN-BRU gets you through

sCriPt

idea: A man’s wife tells him the name of their new baby, but he drinks IRN-BRU and sees that things aren’t too bad.

We open on a man walking into a hospital maternity ward. He’s carrying a bunch of flowers and he heads towards a bed where a young mum is proudly displaying her baby to her mother. As he reaches the bed, he says to the woman holding the baby,

Man: SO, WHAT WE GONNAE CALL HER?

The mum looks up and says, proudly,

MuM: FANNY. I WANT TO CALL HER FANNY

Our guy, taken aback at this, says,

Man: FANNY? WE CANNAE CALL HER FANNY!

The mum doesn’t seem concerned by her husband’s reaction, and carries on cooing over the child. As she does this, our guy quickly picks up a can of IRN-BRU from the bedside table and takes a long drink. He’s now regained his composure, and says, thoughtfully,

Man: FANNY EH? I LIKE IT. IT’S UNUSUAL, UNIQUE.

The grandmother says,

gran: MY MUM’S A FANNY. GRANNY WAS A FANNY. SHE’LL BE JOINING A LONG LINE OF FANNIES.

As she says this, she pulls a tiny jumper out of a bag, with the name ‘FANNY’ knitted across the front in big letters. The mum nods her approval. As he looks at the jumper, our guy takes another drink of his IRN-BRU and says,

Man: AYE, IT’S GOOD TAE KEEP UP TRADITIONS.

A nurse joins the well-wishers and says, in a cooing voice, to the baby,

nurse: AW FANNY, YOU’RE JUST LIKE YOUR DADDY.

The women glance at the jumper and then back at our guy and nod in agreement. Our fella takes a final drink of his IRN-BRU, and we cut to an endframe of a can of IRN-BRU next to a pink congratulations card in a hospital setting. We see the words on the card:

IRN-BRU Gets You Through.

Fanny